7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
1942: The Libyan war zone, North Africa. After a German invasion a British ambulance crew are forced to evacuate their base but become separated from the rest of their unit.
Starring: John Mills (I), Sylvia Syms, Anthony Quayle, Harry Andrews, Diane ClareWar | 100% |
Drama | 35% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Note: This version of this film is available as part of Their Finest Hour: 5 British WWII Classics.
Their Finest Hour aggregates a quintet of really interesting British films about England’s experience in World War II, though kind of
interestingly (and perhaps meaningfully), only one of the films in the set was actually produced during the war, with four others coming
along from the mid- to the late fifties. Perhaps understandably, the film that came out in 1942, Went the Day Well?, is unabashedly fictional
and perhaps tilted toward propaganda, while all four of the films that came out in the fifties ( The Colditz Story, The Dam Busters,
Dunkirk and Ice Cold in Alex), offer stories ostensibly based at least part in fact. These are all fascinating films in their own ways,
and several of them contain hugely enjoyable performances by a coterie of notables like John Mills, Michael Redgrave, and Richard Attenborough. At
least a couple of them may well offer stories generally unknown "on this side of the pond", even to those who have a good general knowledge of the
ins and outs of World War II.
Note: I'm beginning each of the individual reviews of the films in this set with some shared information to get some of the basics out of the
way, and then I'll move on to comments about each individual film in the paragraph below. While Film Movement (on the back cover of this release)
touts these as "newly restored" and "available on Blu-ray for the first time", I point interested readers to these reviews by my colleague Dr. Svet
Atanasov of pre-existing releases of four of the films for the UK market: Went the Day Well? Blu-ray review, The Colditz Story Blu-ray review, The Dam Busters Blu-ray review and Ice Cold in Alex Blu-ray review. Svet's reviews are a good resource not just for Svet's thoughts on plots and technical
presentations, but also to compare screenshots and supplemental features on each disc (which are sometimes but not always shared). I'll also
mention
that there is evidently a UK Blu-ray release of Dunkirk from
Studio
Canal that doesn't have an "official" review yet, but which does have a user review.
Ice Cold in Alex is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement Classics, an imprint of Film Movement, with an AVC encoded 1080p
transfer in 1.67:1. As with all of the films in this set, the insert booklet only offers a generic "new digital restoration" for this presentation, and I
would
normally say that this was probably based on the same master as the UK release that Svet reviewed, if it weren't for the slightly different aspect
ratio.
One way or the other, it does appear there are some differences here other than aspect ratio, based on a cursory comparison of screenshots. This
release looks at least somewhat brighter overall than the UK release, but that said, nothing struck me as out of bounds here, and whites and other
light tones (which are prevalent throughout this desert based film) never bloom. Detail levels are pleasing throughout this presentation, though fine
detail can ebb slightly in some of the darkest scenes. Grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation. I'm once again giving this a slightly
lesser score than Svet did, perhaps to at least slightly temper expectations since there are some uses of stock and/or archival photography
(especially early in the film, but occasionally later as well) that can look pretty ragged. My score is 4.25.
Ice Cold In Alex features an LPCM 2.0 mono track that is probably the best overall sounding track in this Their Finest Hour set. Dialogue (mostly in English, but with a few detours into German) is supported very well, and the score and effects also sound full bodied and problem free. Notably, there are some sequences here which are notably dialogue free, with only slight ambient environmental effects dotting the soundstage, and those are actually quite effective moments in the film.
Ice Cold in Alex is a really fascinating film on a number of levels, and in some ways its connection to World War II, while obvious, isn't really all that germane to the underlying tale of people stuck in a remote location under desperate circumstances. This offers an especially fine performance by Mills, and the supporting cast is similarly impressive. Technical merits are solid, the supplementary package very enjoyable, and Ice Cold in Alex comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
1967
1968
1993
1976
1977
1978
1969
2011
1939
1964
2006
1966
Theatrical Cut & Reconstructed Version in SD
1980
Unrated Director's Cut
2005
2014
1966
1977
The Great Spy Mission / Warner Archive Collection
1965
1970
1976